Be aware! Power and responsibility in the field of sign language interpreting

This volume comprises seven papers that were presented at the efsli Annual Conference in Vienna, Austria from 14th-16th September 2012. After 20 years of interpreting professionalism in Europe, reflection on the status of sign language interpreters (SLIs) and their influence on the interactions of the people they work for in the different languages is urgently needed in times of change in the Deaf and hearing communities. The link between research and practice needs to be tightened to support the changing dynamics in the tripartite communication between deaf and hearing consumer(s) and interpreters and that is exactly what we saw at the 2012 Conference. The authors, each in their own way, all pay attention to new insights into these changes and bring forth discussions of what the new knowledge actually implies for the interpreting professional. These insights may come from deaf or hearing consumers or from practising SLIs, and are brought forward through different techniques and methods. But all papers contribute to a deeper knowledge about our profession and pave the way for new research, and thus to good, and ultimately best, practice in the field. Two abstracts of the presentations that were not submitted to these proceedings are included as well.